


Sands of Time

by yourhonor



Category: DreamSMP
Genre: Bloodvines - Freeform, Crying, Dream Team SMP Angst (Video Blogging RPF), DreamSMP Bloodvines, Karl Jacobs Needs a Hug, Karl Jacobs-centric, Memory Loss, Men Crying, Multi, Polyamorous Dream SMP Ensemble, The Inbetweeen, Time Travel, i wanted to use that tag though, just kidding i had a beta reader, karl jacobs time travels, no beta reader we die like karl jacobs memory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:49:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29650893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourhonor/pseuds/yourhonor
Summary: Through each path he takes through time, he always encounters echoes of his fiances.And each and every time Karl loses them.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity & Karl Jacobs & Sapnap, Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 11
Kudos: 106
Collections: DreamSMP





	Sands of Time

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warnings: Mentions of vomit, mentions of death, memory loss, crying, panic attacks

Through each path he takes through time, he always encounters echoes of his fiances. 

And each and every time Karl loses them.

In each new patch of time, he discovers a new place, whether that's a damning mansion masquerade ball, or a dusty town in the wild west. Memories of the many versions of his partners drift in and out of his mind unpleasantly.

Although each reincarnation of Quackity he deemed generally humorous and somewhat of a nuisance, he would reminisce about each one’s sense of humor and absurdity. The charm only his fiance could have, managing to pull him in with his laughter and repetitive jokes.

It was different for Sapnap, though. They’d been dating longer (though that never meant his love was hindered for their third partner), therefore Karl has practically memorized the mannerisms of his long-time boyfriend. His reincarnations were so much the Sapnap that Karl had come to know and love.

Each version resembled his fiances in some way, washing over him the sense of homesickness and longing. He felt guilty for wanting to be closer with other versions, like he was betraying the trust of those back at home. And although he found comfort in these different timelines in the forms of his fiances, none could compare to his Sapnap and Quackity. Even if they could, he’d never be able to have them anyway. 

He always loses them in the end.

When he comes home, he is always tired. He changes into some loose, bloodstain-free clothing and immediately crawls into bed between his partners, even though he knows it’s his turn to sleep in the spare bedroom. He can hear them stir in their sleep, sometimes waking up enough to ask where he’s been, but he can’t bring himself to care. He wraps himself around one and falls asleep between them, feeling the gentle rise and fall of their chests. 

When they wake, they don’t question him. They run their hands through his messy hair, kiss his cheeks, prepare breakfast for him. He can hear them discussing his continual disappearances over morning cups of coffee while he runs his clothes through the laundry, but he decides he can’t confess the truth. They don’t force an explanation out of him either. 

While they’re busy building Kinoko Kingdom, he slinks away to write. And God, does he write.

After each trip, he does his best to document the gruesome experience. He tries to write every detail. Why did he go, where did he go, who did he meet, and what happened while he was there? He wrote endlessly, spent hours a night just writing about his fiances in a sobbing frenzy, praying it would be enough to revive his memory in the case he forgets them. He tries so hard not to forget, endlessly spending time with them and trying to bury himself into their lives, making them a permanent imprint in his brain so he won’t forget. He struggles with trying to make sure he doesn’t forget his friends, too. 

Then he hides his books.

He stores them in his enderchest till it's overflowing, then throws the rest under the bed in their spare bedroom. He knows he can’t let them know what he’s doing, let alone why. 

He notices how they try to distract him and lighten his mood. It always seems to work, keep him occupied enough to feel like his old self again, before he starts to sink back into that dark place.

=🕒=

They’re building a small house in Kinoko Kingdom when Karl slips up.

“Can you pass me a furnace?”

“I don’t have one.” Sapnap responds, lighting a small lantern and hanging it from the ceiling.

“Well, can you make me one?”

Sapnap smiles, “No dude, just make it yourself.”

“Make me a furnace! Now!”

Sapnap turns slightly, back straightening. “I know damn well you’re not talking to me.”

Flustered by his sudden confidence, Karl smiles sheepishly, “I-”

“I know damn well you’re not talking to me, Karl.” Sapnap turns, poking a finger into his chest.

  
  


“I’m not, Jame-”

He pauses.

“J-Jeez.”

Sapnap gives him a quizzical look, backing up a little. “Who’s James?”

“What?”

“Who’s James?”

“Oh. I dunno.” Karl says, dumbly.

He doesn’t push further. Karl only hopes Sapnap doesn’t think he’s cheating on them. 

=🕒=

They’re eating dinner when it happens again.

Karl can only manage to keep the bad thoughts away for so long.

He can only manage to ground himself for so long. 

They’re eating dinner. It’s spaghetti and meatballs, courtesy of Karl. They’re sitting around the dining room table, talking about the storm outside. It had started raining in the afternoon, they spent some time flying around using their tridents before the lightning began to strike and they all headed inside before they’d get struck, or catch a cold. 

Karl was feeling good. He was warm, wearing a comfortable sweater, and feeling clean after a much-needed shower. He was enjoying his dinner, letting Sapnap and Quackity converse as he listened quietly.

Then the lights went out.

He gasped, dropping his fork in his bowl. A wave of panic hit him, rocking his body.

“The power went out.” Sapnap points out. 

“I’ll get some candles,” Quackity says, standing up. “Stay put.”

Karl’s body begins to shake, he feels the tremble in his fingers spreading to his arms. Unpleasant and disturbing memories of the masquerade ball flood his mind.

Drew’s body stuck in the bookshelf.

James’ body in the corner of a spare bedroom. 

Completely lifeless. The blood seeps into the floor, into his mind, vines grabbing at his arms and wrapping around his stomach.

Suddenly, he’s on his feet and rushing to the bathroom. 

“Karl?”

He’s able to reach the toilet before his dinner comes up.

At a moment's notice, Sapnap is by his side, Quackity soon after with a lit candle. He can barely hear them questioning what's going on, shouting their concerns. They crouch beside him and try to get him to drink water while he weeps, resting his head in his arms.

=🕒=

“I’m worried about you.”

Karl looks at Sapnap quizzically, setting down the planter of mushrooms he’d been holding. “Why?”

“You’re-You’ve been acting really strange. You haven’t been sleeping well, and you keep getting sick.” Sapnap says. He raises a hand and places it on Karl's cheek, running a gentle thumb beneath his downturned eyes. “You’re developing little bags under your eyes.”

Karl puts a hand on Sapnap’s lowering it from his face. “I’m okay. I don’t want you and Quackity to worry.”

“It’s our job to worry.”

Karl falls silent for a moment, setting the planter down in front of the windowsill and taking a glass water bottle out of his shulker box to water it. “It’s okay Sapnap. I have you guys, so I know everything is going to be okay. I’m just going through a bit of a rough patch.”

He pops the cap out and pours the water over the soil, shoving the bottle back in his shulker box.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“You can kiss me.”

So he does. 

=🕒=

He’s traveling again.

This time, it’s a trip to the inbetween.

When Karl arrives on the steps of the castle, he struggles to adjust his eyes to the bright and shimmering quartz pillars and walls. He walks up the stairs and into the open halls, listening to the quiet clicking of his white shoes on the marble floor.

He wanders almost aimlessly through the halls of the building, up and down the white corridors. He feels like he should be looking for something, but he doesn’t know what.

Climbing up and down the pristine steps he feels a sense of calm. The temperature is perfect for his hoodie. The air feels fresh and smells faintly of his favorite candles. He takes it in as much as he can, knowing it’s meant to be a safe space for him. He runs his hands along the untouched marble walls and windowsills, stopping occasionally to peek outside. He wonders how the plants stay pollinated if there’s no animals or bugs around. 

Eventually, he steps into the courtyard, where he finds a leather book in the grass between a swing set for two. He sits down on one of the swings, taking the book into his hands.

  
With a deep breath, he cracks it open and reads the pages off in his mind. 

_ Welcome back to the inbetween. _

_ Don’t be alarmed, but I fear we could be running out of time to prevent a great tragedy. Your next adventure is bound to be the hardest yet. _

He swallows the lump forming in his throat.

_ If you’re unable to save its people it’s possible you’ll lose your memory permanently. _

It ends there, an unusually short message when compared to others he’d read in the inbetween. He feels the dread festering in the pit of his stomach, churning uncomfortably. He shakily puts the book down in the grass. 

  
The air feels slightly harder to breathe, he has a hard time letting it enter his lungs. He runs a trembling hand through his fluffy hair.

He stands and walks up the steps of the courtyard, into the building.

He freezes. Something catches his eye at the corner of his vision.

A red tendril.

There’s a red tendril wrapped around the pristine, white pillar. It leaves a red residue, it squirms and twists around the pillar at a snail's pace. It’s oozing with the red liquid.

His heart falls into his stomach.

_ This is supposed to be my safe space. _

He slowly shakes his head, but the action quickly grows frantic.  _ No no no God, no. I have to get out of here. _

He’s running. He’s running towards the portal at the entrance of the castle when he suddenly trips across something large, laying across the floor. He scrambles to his feet but it’s already wrapping around his ankle, waist, and arms. Images of the egg and it’s eternal destruction throughout history flash through his mind as he struggles against the grip of his captor. 

It starts to speak to him.

As soon as it does he starts screaming over it.

“No no no! Leave me alone! Put me down, LET ME GO! STOP!” He cries.

Suddenly, he feels like he’s falling.

But instead of falling onto the marble and shattering his somewhat fragile body, he finds himself sitting up in his library.

He resists the urge to vomit.

_ Was it all fake? Was that in my head? _

He can’t seem to calm the heaving of his chest, no matter how hard he tries to. Without so much as a note or page of writing his experience, he stumbles to his feet and rushes out of the library.   
  


He bursts through the double doors and into the open. He runs home as fast as his feet will take him, navigating off muscle memory. He thinks he might’ve ran into someone but he pushes past them with a quick apology.

When he gets home, Sapnap and Quackity are waiting for him. He slams into the front door, pushing it open. The two are sitting on the couch, watching a movie.

They look up, surprised to see him. “Karlos!” Quackity sits up, “Where have you  _ been  _ man?”   
  
Karl’s only able to manage staying on his feet for another moment before he feels his knees hit the ground, bursting into harsh sobs and tears.

As soon as he does, both his fiances are at his side.

“Karl? Karl talk to us, please.”   
“Karl what’s wrong? You’ve been gone for like 2 days! You didn’t answer any of my te-”

“I’m sorry,” He cries, burying his face into Sapnap’s t-shirt. “I’m so sorry.”   
  
“You have nothing to apologize for, we’re just really worried about you.. Can-can you tell us what’s going on?”   
  
Karl shakes his head slowly, still taking heaving breaths.

“Okay.. Karl, breath slowly okay? Please- Please try to calm down.” Quackity pleads with him, holding his hand.

Karl grips Sapnap’s t-shirt and squeezes Quackity’s hand till it’s numb. He takes as much air into his lungs as he can, hiccups taking over and interrupting his breathing. Quackity brings a glass of water.

He’s not sure how much time passes before he’s calmed down enough for them to bring him to their bedroom and sit him down. He watches them sit across from him on the bed, as he tucks a pillow beneath his chin into his lap.

“Karl, can you tell us what’s going on..?” Quackity asks.   
He shook his head.

“Is.. Is there anything we can do to help?” Sapnap asks.

“I.. I don’t know.” Karl swallows.

A moment passes.

“You can promise me something,” Karl says, offering both hands out.   
“What’s that?” Sapnap asks, gently taking Karl’s hand into his own. Quackity does the same.

“You have to promise you’re not going to leave me.”   
“What?” Quackity looks up. He’s not proposing the idea that it’s a ridiculous request-- of course he’d never leave Karl- but it’s hard to process.

Karl tilts his head up, revealing his eyes are full of tears again. “Please just say you won’t leave me. No matter what I turn into, or.. Or who I turn into.”

“We won’t leave you Karl.” Sapnap says.

“Promise.” Quackity adds.

Sapnap raises Karl’s hand and kisses the top, along his knuckles. 

And although they don’t realize this is bigger than any of them, although they don’t realize they could lose their Karl any day now, although they can’t begin to understand what Karl may be going through or have to face in the near future, they’re happy just doing what they can to make him happy, make whatever hard time he’s going through easier for him. 

And although Karl loses every reincarnation of his fiances in painful death or time for departure, he knows he can always come home to the loves of his life.

He’s determined to find a happy ending for all of them, no matter the cost.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this all today :D it was fun! I got some inspiration so I kinda speedran this


End file.
